Han Guangling King Tomb Museum

Han Guangling King Tomb Museum

The Han Guangling King Tomb Museum is a cultural tourism attraction.

On the verdant and picturesque northern shore of Baozhang Lake, where lush grass and dense woods thrive, stands the Han Guangling King Tomb Museum atop the central peak of Shugang Mountain.

The tomb’s occupant, Liu Xu, the Han Guangling King and fourth son of Emperor Wu of Han, was enfeoffed in Guangling. He dredged canals to promote trade, developed mining, and minted coins, laying the foundation for Yangzhou's first boom in the Western Han period. Unfortunately, he harbored imperial ambitions. After the young Emperor Liu Fuling ascended the throne, Liu Xu was denounced for cursing the emperor and ultimately took his own life using an imperial sash. Despite his crimes, Emperor Xuan of Han still granted him a royal-level tomb.

The tomb of the Han Guangling King and his wife was discovered in 1979 on Shenjushan Mountain in the northwestern suburbs of Yangzhou. From June of that year until May 1982, the Nanjing Museum led the excavation. The Jiangsu Provincial Government then decided to relocate and restore the tomb in its entirety on Shugang Mountain. In May 1992, the Han Tomb Museum officially opened to the public, later renamed the Han Guangling King Tomb Museum, also known as the "Han Mausoleum Garden."

The architecture of the Han Guangling King Tomb is grand, covering an area of approximately 27,000 square meters. The coffin chamber is entirely constructed from Phoebe nanmu wood, and the tomb employs the highest-ranking burial structure known as "Huangchang Tizou." The tomb contains 856 massive wooden pieces, using up to 1,000 cubic meters of timber. The scale of materials, the precision of craftsmanship, the rigor of construction, and the intact preservation all rank it as the finest among Han tombs nationwide.

Upon entering the museum, visitors’ eyes are drawn to large murals on the walls depicting scenes of feasting with wine cups and musical instruments, capturing the final banquet shared by the tomb’s owner and his court officials. The tomb is divided into the main burial chamber and over ten functional rooms including the Zifang and Bianfang chambers. In front of the tomb, a procession of “four horses and one chariot” has been recreated, reflecting the imperial lifestyle enjoyed in life. Among the unearthed burial objects of the tomb’s owner are dazzling displays such as a jade burial suit sewn with gold thread, male and female figurines, swords, bows, halberds, as well as exquisitely crafted lacquerware and pottery. Display cases also showcase excavated tools such as axes, chisels, saws, drills, along with plates, dishes, and bathing utensils—each highlighting the wisdom and craftsmanship of the ancient people of Yangzhou.

To the northeast of the main exhibition hall, the tomb of the Guangling Queen, also built with the "Huangchang Tizou" structure, has been replicated. In 2008, the "Shared Brilliance Across Borders" exhibition hall was added, telling the story of Princess Liu Xijun of Jiangdu in the Western Han Dynasty, who was sent to marry a king of the Wusun Kingdom. This exhibit commemorates Liu Xijun, who hailed from Yangzhou.

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China